CAROLYN LEONHART seems to be the only credited backup singer on this YouTube version of the song “Cousin Dupree.” That’s OK with me since I was writing this post about her specifically. I did several searches on the other B.U. singers on this song without results. I know they’re there, I see at least four ladies in the video.
This woman seems to be the embodiment of THE MUSIC. She seems to have captured the essence of what it is to be an essential part of that music. I can’t seem to be able articulate exactly what it is, so just watch. She usually stands in the middle. NO WAIT… there is nothing cooler than a Steely Dan back-up singer; that’s it, an ideal American girl…
OOH AH – OOH EE
From the pages of WIKI:
“Cousin Dupree.” is the first single from Steely Dan’s 2000 album Two Against Nature. The song describes the desire a young man (Dupree) has for his attractive cousin. In 2001 the song won a Grammy Award for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal.”
By the way, a musician I was in a studio with in the early 1970s played on this album. That would be the Hit-Maker, First-Call Sideman (for over forty-years,) Dean Parks
The Dan has reached Audio Nirvana, if you will, several times over the years. One amazing moment happens, courtesy of Dean Parks, on the Royal Scam track \”Haitian Divorce\” which features a Talkbox to produce a chicken clucking sound. Dean Parks plays through that talk-box. NIRVANA! On this recording the magic happens around 03:51 with Fagen and “the girls” trading vocal licks with the way-tasty: OOH AH – OOH EE! HOW ABOUT A KISS FOR YOUR COUSIN DUPREE!
Carolyn Leonhart was born in New York City on 10 July 1971, daughter of bassist and composer Jay Leonhart and vocalist Donna Leonhart. She was exposed to music from a very early age, attending her father’s gigs where she saw him accompany famous singers such as Sarah Vaughan, Mel Tormé and Peggy Lee. Leonhart sang on television commercials as a young child. She attended The High School of Music & Art in New York City, and for four years sang in the school’s Gospel Choir. While at school, she performed in the TV show “It’s Showtime At The Apollo”. At home she would spend hours singing while her father and brother played jazz standards. She won the Lena Horne High School Jazz Vocalist competition while in her senior year.
Leonhart attended the University of Rochester, obtaining a degree in Comparative Religion. While at university she remained deeply involved in music, singing with bands at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. She recorded two solos with the Toshiba EMI label, and in her senior year was named Best College Jazz Vocalist by Downbeat Magazine.
Leonhart returned to New York and in 1994 began singing in jazz clubs. That year she competed in the Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition, coming third. A critic said her choice of the songs “Nobody Else but Me” and “Day Dream” was daring, but she needed greater control and more focused delivery. In the following years Leonhart performed with a variety of musicians including The Real Live Show, a hip-hop group, and Wax Poetic. The Wax Poetic project combines electronica, trip hop, funk, and jazz. In 1998 she recorded an album with the Swiss Percussion Ensemble, a group of four classical percussionists whose instruments were mainly made of glass. In 2000, Leonhart released the album Steal The Moon, a collaborative project with pianist and composer Rob Bargad. Since then she began performing regularly with her own group at the Smoke Jazz Club in New York City, at Steamers and The Vic in California, and at other clubs on the east coast read more…